ELIF AKGÖL

Istanbul — Union membership rates in Turkey and North Kurdistan are declining despite the continuous increase in the number of workers, reflecting a widening gap in union protection. The latest official data shows that the vast majority of workers do not belong to any union, at a time when unionists and researchers warn of legal and structural obstacles limiting freedom of organization, while women face even greater challenges in accessing union representation.

According to the statistics of the Turkish Ministry of Labor and Social Security for July, the number of registered workers in Turkey rose to 17,630,475, of whom only 2,432,789 are union members. Thus, the official union membership rate stands at only 13.79%.

Despite the increase in registered workers by approximately 931,391 since January of this year, the number of union members rose by only 18,999, leading to a decline in the unionization rate from 14.45% to 13.79%. This means that 86 out of every 100 workers in Turkey and North Kurdistan do not belong to any union.

Ministry data also showed that only 60 out of 246 unions managed to exceed the minimum threshold requirement of 1% in their sector—the condition necessary to obtain collective bargaining authority.

The Turkish Confederation of Trade Unions ranked first in terms of membership, with a total of 1,260,109 members, followed by the Confederation of Labor Rights Unions with 838,266 members. The membership of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions in Turkey rose to 263,282 by July.

Thus, the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions in Turkey represents approximately 10.8% of all unionized workers, compared to 51.8% for the Turkish Confederation of Trade Unions, and 34.5% for the Confederation of Labor Rights Unions.

Women Are More Marginalized

The DİSK-AR Research Center explained that the official membership rate does not reflect the true size of union organization, as the proportion of workers covered by collective labor agreements does not exceed 9.6%.

The study revealed that women constitute 34.5% of the total workforce, but represent only 24.7% of union members. Out of 6.4 million women workers, only 601,000 belong to unions—a rate of 9.3%.

For men, out of 12.2 million male workers, approximately 1.83 million are union members, a rate of nearly 15%. The report confirms that women lag behind men both in union membership rates and in their representation within unions.

"The Biggest Obstacle Is the 1% Threshold"

According to Saliha Bahadırlı, a member of the Market Stores Committee of the Social Services Workers' Union affiliated with DİSK, the reasons for this decline are primarily structural, the most important being the requirement to exceed the 1% threshold in the sector. "The number of workers has increased, but the union membership rate has declined, bringing us back almost to 2020 levels. The biggest reason is the 1% threshold, which makes it nearly impossible for many unions to gain the authority to sign collective labor agreements."

She added that this condition was essentially designed to limit union organization, because unions that do not exceed it cannot negotiate on behalf of workers.

"We Need Class-Based Unionism"

Saliha Bahadırlı believes that the current system of sectoral classification makes it difficult to organize independent unions, as it brings together very different professions within the same sector, weakening the possibility of building a common struggle. "There are loyalist unions that easily exceed this threshold year after year, while many workers affiliated with them are not even aware that they are members."

She affirmed that what is needed is class-based unionism grounded in organizing workers within workplaces through committees, so that workers have a say and a decision, rather than merely paying union dues. She cited the example of the Teachers' Union and the Independent Miners' Union, which lead successful struggles and strikes but face difficulty exceeding the 1% threshold due to the way work sectors are classified.

The Necessity of Communication with Workers

She affirmed that bureaucracy and division serve the interests of employers. "They do not want us to come together or unite, because our fragmentation serves employers and capital." She noted that the fear of being dismissed from work and the loss of trust in unions are among the most important reasons for weak organization, and that unions themselves bear part of the responsibility because they do not communicate enough with workers. "Today, there are about 15 million workers with no union protection who do not know their rights. Many are afraid to join unions because employers intimidate them and threaten them with dismissal."

Women and Unregistered Work

Saliha Bahadırlı noted that the problem is not limited to the low percentage of women in unions, but also includes their low participation in the labor market and the prevalence of unregistered work—which is not reflected in official statistics. She indicated that millions of workers are working without formal registration and suffer accidents and injuries amid weak occupational safety measures.

She affirmed that unions are not limited to negotiating wages, but also help workers know their legal rights, improve occupational health and safety conditions, organize themselves, and collectively defend their rights within workplaces.

Saliha Bahadırlı concluded her remarks by affirming that the decline in union organization is not inevitable. Therefore, "the 1% threshold requirement must be abolished, an organizational model must be promoted that gives workers the right to direct participation in decision-making, and unions must struggle alongside workers rather than on their behalf."